Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Punctuation is the name for marks used in writing. Untitled11-618x350.png' alt='Chicago Manual Of Style Apostrophe Rules' title='Chicago Manual Of Style Apostrophe Rules' />They are to help understanding and correct reading. These are some common punctuation marks used in English. The use of punctuation in English can change from place to place and from time to time. Modern typography suggests that punctuation should only be used when there is a need. That results in less punctuation than was the case the early 2. The use of these marks is often decided by a group or organization and then written down as a style guide. Newspapers have a style guide to make their content use the same rules consistency. Chicago Manual Of Style Apostrophe Rules' title='Chicago Manual Of Style Apostrophe Rules' />One reason is obedience. If we work for an organization with a house style guide, then we use that guide. Punctuation helps the reader understand what is meant. Consider these examples He did not go to town because his father was absent. This means he did not go to town, and the reason was not his fathers absence. He did not go to town, because his father was absent. This means he did not go to town, and the reason for not going was that his father was absent. Apostrophe. The apostrophe has three uses contractions, plurals, and possessives. Contractions. Contractions e. Read what writing experts say each week about all aspects of writing and stylefrom publication ethics to precision in reporting research to reference style and the. Perhaps youve wondered if and when academic degrees bachelors, masters, etc. The Chicago Manual of Style CMOS recommends writing. The apostrophe or character is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights. Rules of punctuation. The use of punctuation in English can change from place to place and from time to time. Modern typography suggests that punctuation should only. There are rules for writing numbers in fiction. Learn when to use numerals and when to write out numbers. Learn the conventions for using numbers in novels. An article should begin with an introductory lead section, which should not contain section headings see WikipediaManual of StyleLead section. In the second example, no style guide will help. The writer just has to make sure that the sentence is understood as it is written. Punctuation is there to help the reader make sense of what is written. Often it is best to change the sentence so that the meaning does not rest on a comma. He went to town, but not because his father was away. Because his father was away, he did not go to town. That seems to make the meanings clear. A period U. S. A., full stop U. K. and Commonwealth or full point typography and printing,23 looks like this. A period or stop is used to end a sentence. The period plus a space separates sentences in prose, and makes it easier to read. If they are not needed, they should not be used. Chicago Manual Of Style Apostrophe Rules' title='Chicago Manual Of Style Apostrophe Rules' />So, for example, in a list format it is obvious when a section ends, therefore it does not need a full stop. A period can show numbers that are smaller than one. With money, a period is used to show the amount of money less than one dollar. For example Elizabeth bought a soda for 1. Elizabeth paid one dollar and twenty five cents for her drink. A period is sometimes used to show that a word has been made shorter. A word that is made shorter with a period is called an abbreviation. JIGdY.png' alt='Chicago Manual Of Style Apostrophe Rules' title='Chicago Manual Of Style Apostrophe Rules' />For example The words doctor or mister are often made shorter when used with a name. Dr. Smith is the name of a doctor whose last name is Smith, and Mr. Banerjee and Mrs. Yang are common ways of writing. However, in modern typography, plain Mr, MrsMs or Dr are more common. Mrs is never written in full to write mistress is to mean something quite different. See also capitalization. A comma looks like this ,A comma has many uses. Some of these are shown below To separate things in a list cows, horses, pigs, and sheep. A comma that is used before the word and in a list is called an Oxford comma. Some people do not use Oxford commas cows, horses, pigs and sheep. To separate two sentences with a conjunction Most birds have separate toes, but ducks feet are webbed. To separate parts of a sentence Mimi, hungry as she was, was shy to come forward and have a slice of cake. To indicate a pause in a sentence or question Hallie, did you remember to feed the catIn some European countries, commas are used as the Insert number base here point, instead of a full stop. Instead of 3. 5. In an inverse to that, 1. Seventeen thousand, etc. A question mark looks like this Question marks are used when writing a question, to make an inquiry, or to ask something. For example. Hallie, have you done your homeworkElizabeth said How are you to Hallie. Why is the sky blueAn exclamation mark looks like this An exclamation mark is used to write about a strong emotion, or to write the words a person shouted. It can be used to make a statement stronger or more forceful. For example. What a bad cat Mimi hasJane, come hereYou did a good jobAn exclamation mark can be used with a question mark, to make a question more forceful. For example. What did you do that for she said angrily. An apostrophe looks like this An apostrophe has two main uses An apostrophe can be used to show that something belongs to someone else. If there is only one thing, the letter s is used after an apostrophe to show ownership. For example. It was the boys dog. We will go in Mimis car. Sometimes the letter s is not used after an apostrophe to show ownership. A word will end with just an apostrophe if there is more than one thing and the word already ends with an s. The Oil Curse Michael Ross Pdf Application. For example. Father put away the girls clothes means that Father had to tidy up for several girls. Father put away the girls clothes means that Father tidied up for only one girl. An apostrophe can be used to put two small words together. Two small words that are put together with an apostrophe to make one word are called contractions. This is normal in writing about a person speaking. Spoken English often uses contractions because these words are easier to say. For example. Cannot can be made into the word cant. It is can be made into the word its, for example, Its a nice day today. Common mistakes when using apostropheschange change sourcePronouns do not use an apostrophe to show that something belongs to something else. Among these are its, his, hers, theirs. For example. The bird flapped its wings, not The bird flapped its wings. It is his bike, not It is hiss bike. Plurals words referring to more than one thing do not need an apostrophe. For example. Apples for sale, not Apples for sale. Quotation marks also called quote marks or quotes for short are used around the words that people have said, or direct speech. They are used in pairs. For example. Hallie said, Mimi, please wash the dishes. Today, said our teacher, is the first day of the rest of your lives. Example. After recording Beat It, Michael Jackson went on to record several more hits. When quotation marks sit next to periods and commas, there are two styles of punctuation. These two styles are most commonly referred to as American and British the British one is also called logical quotation. Both systems have the same rules regarding question marks, exclamation points, colons, and semicolons. But they differ in how they treat full stops and commas. In all major forms of English, question marks, exclamation marks, semicolons, and any other punctuation are placed inside or outside the closing quotation mark depending on whether they are part of the quoted material. Did he say, Good morning, Dave No, he said, Where are you, DaveThere are three major definitions of the word gender vernacular, sociological, and linguistic. The style in the United Kingdom and other non American places is called British style,57 logical quotation,8 or logical punctuation. Otherwise it places punctuation outside the closing quotation marks. Fowlers A Dictionary of Modern English Usage provides an early example of the rule All signs of punctuation used with words in quotation marks must be placed according to the sense. When dealing with words as words, short form works and sentence fragments, this style places periods and commas outside the quotation marks Carefree, in general, means free from care or anxiety. How to Use Apostrophes with Examples2. Be aware of the itsits trap. Use an apostrophe with the word it only when you want to indicate a contraction for it is or it has. It is a pronoun, and pronouns have their own possessive form that does not use an apostrophe. For example, That noiseIts just the dog eating its bone. This may seem confusing, but it follows the same pattern as other possessive pronouns his, hers, its, yours, ours, theirs.